SAN DIEGO – Faced with unrelenting winds whipping wildfires into a frenzy across Southern California, firefighters conceded defeat on many fronts Tuesday to an unstoppable force that has chased an estimated 1 million people away.

Unless the shrieking Santa Ana winds subside, and thatâ€™s not expected for at least another day, fire crews say they can do little more than try to wait it out and react â€” tamping out spot fires and chasing ribbons of airborne embers to keep new fires from flaring.

â€œIf itâ€™s this big and blowing with as much wind as itâ€™s got, itâ€™ll go all the way to the ocean before it stops,â€ said San Diego Fire Capt. Kirk Humphries. â€œWe can save some stuff but we canâ€™t stop it.â€